After eight weeks of fighting between soldiers of the
government of Guinea Bissau and army rebels, a truce
was signed on Sunday calling for an immediate cessation
of hostilities. On Monday, news reports said the truce
appeared to be holding. Reuters quoted Portuguese journalists
as saying that there were more civilians on the streets
of the devastated capital, Bissau, but residents who
had fled towards the interior were not yet ready to
return.

The ceasefire plan called for formal negotiations to
start within eight days, a de-militarised zone around
the strategically located town of Mansoa, north of
Bissau, the deployment of peacekeeping troops from
Portuguese speaking countries and the opening of corridors
of humanitarian aid.

Delegations from the Guinea-Bissau government and rebels
met at the weekend aboard a Portuguese frigate, the
'Corte Real', anchored in the port of Bissau with mediators
from the contact group established by the Community
of Portuguese speaking countries (CPLP). Foreign Minister
of the Cape Verde Islands, Jose Luis de Jesus, led
the negotiations with President Joao Bernardo Vieira
of Guinea Bissau and representatives of the army mutineers.

It was not clear whether rebel leader, General Ansumane
Mane, participated directly in the talks. Under the
agreement, AFP reported that the three sides -- the
government, the rebels and the CPLP would hold fresh
meetings within eight days. The first round of talks
would be on the 'Corte Real' with subsequent meetings
in Cape Verde.

Reuters noted that the agreement did not mention the
role of the Senegalese and Guinean troops, which were
sent in by their respective governments to back the
pro-government forces in a bid to quell the rebellion.
The rebels had previously set as a condition the withdrawal
of these troops from Guinea Bissau before embarking
on negotiations.

The revolt against Vieira began on 7 June after he sacked
his chief of staff, Mane, for alleged gun smuggling
to the neighbouring Senegalese separatist province
of Casamance. The mutineers have accused the president
of corruption and concentrating power in his own hands.

Ceasefire "a major success"

The BBC reported on Monday that the Foreign minister
of Guinea Bissau, Fernardo Defim da Silva, described
the ceasefire as a " major success and a great
relief." In an interview with Portuguese Radio,
Da Silva said it was the start of a very complex process
of national reconciliation and there was "great
optimism in the country." Portuguese Foreign
minister Jaime Gama said there was a "flicker
of light at the end of the tunnel."

The latest mediation attempt spearheaded by Portugal
and Angola failed three weeks ago, news organisations
said. On the military front, there has been a stalemate
between rebel troops which hold the airport and the
northern area of Bissau.

Lisbon ready to participate alongside CPLP troops

Portuguese Defence Minister Jose Penedos said Portugal
would only intervene militarily in Guinea Bissau alongside
CPLP troops. In an interview published in the Portuguese
daily 'Publico' at the weekend, Penedos said in light
of Portugal's recent colonial past with Guinea Bissau,
it would not be the best partner in such an intervention.
However, he added that his government would be willing
to collaborate with a peacekeeping operation deployed
under the CPLP auspices. Penedos said its deployment
would "facilitate dialogue between the warring
factions while guaranteeing that the civilian population
is not a target of atrocities."

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) appealed on Friday to the two warring faction
to respect humanitarian law and to protect the civilian
population, AFP reported, quoting an ICRC statement.
ICRC announced that it had distributed 56 mt of WFP
food to 4,000 people in Bafata, the second city in
Guinea Bissau.

Urgent need for food aid, claims African agency

A sub-regional African food monitoring body, the Comite
permanent inter-Etats de lutte contre la secheresse
(CILSS) called for 39,000 mt of food to assist the
civilian population in Guinea-Bissau, AFP reported
at the weekend.

A CILSS statement warned of a "major catastrophic
food crisis" if the fighting continued. It added
that food reserves were now very low in Guinea Bissau.
CILSS estimated that 31,000 mt of cereals and 8,000
mt of other commodities such as sugar, oil and medicine
were needed urgently.

An OCHA official told IRIN that the interim consolidated
appeal for Guinea Bissau had requested 3,000 mts of
food per month for the affected population in Guinea
Bissau .

SIERRA LEONE: RUF leader extradited

The leader of Sierra Leone's rebel Revolutionary United
Front (RUF) was extradited from Nigeria at the weekend
and made a televised appeal to his supporters to stop
fighting.

The RUF supported the military junta overthrown by Nigerian-led
ECOMOG troops in February when Sierra Leone's democratically
elected government was re-installed. Although the junta
was beaten, RUF rebels have continued to fight in rural
areas where they have committed widespread atrocities
against civilians.

The BBC said Sankoh, imprisoned in Nigeria since March,
seemed to be in good health during his television appearance.
It quoted Sierra Leone officials as saying he would
face trial for crimes against humanity.

"I think we can solve our problem in peace,"
Reuters quoted him as saying.

But an ECOMOG spokesman said it was too early to talk
about Sankoh standing trial for his part in the ousting
of President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah last year. Sierra
Leone's government has so far put some 38 members of
the military junta on trial for treason.

NIGER: Rebel attack kills 15

Some 15 people were killed and six wounded on Friday
when Nigerien rebels attacked a village in the eastern
province of N'Guigmi, AFP reported. It said state media
blamed the attack on the Front Democratique Revolutionaire
(FDR), which has reportedly operated for some four
years in the extreme southeast of the country near
the border with Nigeria and Chad.

The FDR claims control of Manga and Kawar regions from
the Niamey government. It is the only rebel group not
to have signed a recent peace accord, which saw northern
separatists brought into the peace process, media reports
said.

GABON: Ruling party seeks Bongo re-election

Gabon's ruling party launched an appeal at the weekend
for President Omar Bongo to run for re-election later
this year, AFP reported. Local media said the Parti
Democratique du Gabon had proclaimed Bongo, whio has
ruled the country for 30 years, a "trump card
for the third millennium", and insisted he "continue
to take the nation's destiny in its hands."

Opposition split

Meanwhile, the leader of the main opposition Rassemblement
National de Boucherons (RJB) has yet to respond to
his party's call to stand. Referring to splits in the
party following the expulsion of his deputy three weeks
ago, Father Paul Mba Abessole said he would first have
to deal with the crisis caused by Pierre-Andre Kombila's
"treachery and indiscipline".

Kombila supporters holding their own congress last weekend
in turn accused Abessole of "high treason"
and nominated Kombila to run against Bongo.

He has also won the support of three smaller parties,
which will not put forward their own candidates, AFP
said.

The RJB is the only party thought to have a chance of
defeating Bongo

GHANA: Journalists sentenced

Press rights groups took exception on Friday at stiff
sentences passed on two Ghanaian journalists found
guilty of contempt of court, AFP reported. The Accra-based
Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) described the month-long
gaol terms and fines imposed on Kweku Baako from 'The
Crusading Guide' and Haruna Attah from 'The Statesman'
as "crushing and likely to intimidate the press."

Ghana's First Lady, Nana Rawlings, reportedly brought
the case in connection with a libel suit. The International
Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) also raised
its concern for the two.

SENEGAL: Opposition leader gives up seat

A leading member of Senegal's opposition has given up
his parliamentary seat to concentrate on presidential
elections scheduled for 2000, AFP reported on Friday.
Abdoulaye Wade told a press conference his presence
in parliament as leader of the Parti Democratique du
Senegal (PDS) was not "indispensible".

"I consider that for what I could do in the national
assembly, we have enough deputiesÖto do the job
in my place," he was quoted as saying. Wade is
a long-standing political rival of President Abdou
Diouf.

WEST AFRICA: Conflict prevention

Defence and interior ministers from the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS) meeting last week in
The Gambia's capital, Banjul, have set up a new working
group on conflict prevention, AFP reported at the weekend.

The news agency quoted a statement after the meeting
saying ECOWAS would intervene in the internal affairs
of member states when a there was risk of humanitarian
crisis, sub-regional security was threatened or if
a democratic government was in danger of being toppled.

The meeting also reportedly undertook to seek a moratorium
on the manufacture, export and import of small arms
in the region and other measures to combat crime and
drugs trafficking.

Abidjan, 27 July, 1998 1830 gmt

[ends]

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